


Breakfast At Tiffany's

by Ceares



Category: Common Law
Genre: Curtain Fic, Five by five, Friends With Benefits, M/M, Soul Bond, Tropes, five things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 09:31:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2807705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceares/pseuds/Ceares
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I  would have been lost without three people stepping in at the last minute to beta and encourage. Felicia,  is who always there and Goner Gone and Moriann who I would have been lost without and who have my undying thanks. </p><p>This is more properly a series or a set-five tropes.</p><p>I really hope you enjoy this, Diarahans. Happy Yuletide.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Breakfast At Tiffany's

**Author's Note:**

  * For [diarahans](https://archiveofourown.org/users/diarahans/gifts).



> I would have been lost without three people stepping in at the last minute to beta and encourage. Felicia, is who always there and Goner Gone and Moriann who I would have been lost without and who have my undying thanks. 
> 
> This is more properly a series or a set-five tropes.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this, Diarahans. Happy Yuletide.

1\. When Travis met Wes

 

“How many of you expected all your problems and disagreements to disappear when you bonded?”

One by one, the group sheepishly raised their hands. His and Travis’s hands, visibly absent, were more conspicuous than usual,which was saying a lot and only supported his belief that they didn’t belong here. 

Dr. Ryan raised a questioning brow. “The two of you had different expectations?”

“We didn’t have _any_ expectations considering we’d only met each other five minutes before.” 

“So you and Wes didn’t know each other at all when you bonded?”

Travis shook his head. “Nope, I’m minding my own business one minute, the next, bam!”

“Spontaneous bonding between strangers is... ” 

Travis leaned back in his chair, mouth pursed. “Weird?”

“Insane? Yeah, we know.”

“I was going to say, rare.” She actually looked rather excited and Wes hoped they weren’t about to be case study XY in some academic paper. They’d manage to dodge that bullet when they first bonded -- catching a serial killer far overshadowing the details of their bond. 

 

**********

 

“Well, shake hands.” Pacman grinned at them.

Wes reached out his at the same time as Marks and there were literal sparks. He knew what it was the instant their hands touched even though it wasn’t supposed to happen that way. All the literature, all the classes, they barely mentioned it -- you got maybe one line about how rare bonds between strangers were, how rare spontaneous bonds, period, were and then it was on to what a ‘glorious, once in a lifetime event’ bonding was. 

He jerked his hand back and so did Marks -- _Travis_ but it was too late. _No shit!_ He glared at Travis. “Don’t use the bond, dumbass.” 

Pacman stared between them, eyes wide. “Holy fuck, you guys!” 

Wes felt a thread of panic and he wasn’t sure if it belonged to him or Travis. He took a deep breath, then pushed it out slowly. They needed to stay calm. They had forty-eight hours to get this taken care of. The grace period before the bond set in cement, the leeway the bonding agencies gave for idiots who drunk bonded or decided to run away with the Maid of Honor at the reception.

“Oh man, how did you even?” Pacman shook his head. “Alex is going to flip her shit.” 

“It’s going to be fine.” Alex was definitely going to flip her shit. They’d never been able to decide about bonding, always figured they’d get to it some day, though once Wes had left the law to become a cop, it had been shelved indefinitely. Still though, him bonding with someone else, even accidentally, was only going to make things worse between them. 

“That kind of sucks for you, dude.” Travis was frowning, eyes sympathetic. 

“Stay out of my head, the more we use the bond, the harder it is to dissolve it.” 

“I’d like to stay out of your head but it’s not exactly easy, you’re transmitting on eleven over there.” 

Pacman snorted and Wes put a hand up to his forehead where a headache was already forming. He might, maybe had been. “Sorry.” He concentrated on turning things down until Travis was just a spot of awareness in the back of his mind. The panic faded some and Wes realized they’d been on a feedback loop. The whole atmosphere in the room seemed less tense and even Pacman slumped a little, seeming to relax.

 

********

 

Dr. Ryan crossed her legs and folded her hands across her lap, expression sympathetic and curious. “So you planned on dissolving the bond before it set. What made you decide not to?’

Travis shrugged. “We didn’t decide, so much as we had no choice.” 

 

********

Well, to be technical, they’d had a choice but that choice was not catching a serial killer and that hadn’t been a choice at all, not for either of them and they didn’t need the bond to know that much. 

The bond though, it was like nothing he ever felt before. He’d always thought there’d be a period of adjustment, that a bond would feel unnatural before it settled but it wasn’t like that. He didn't know if it was that they were working on the case or the fact that for them to even be able to bond, there had to be some level of compatibility, but the first twenty-four hours passed like nothing. He never once thought of severing the connection before they solved the case and he knew Travis hadn’t either.

They’d thought it wouldn’t hurt to share a little information before they got everything taken care of but a little had turned into a lot and minutes had turned into hours. It was amazing not having to justify his reasons or explain all the information he’d gathered and hope he wasn’t leaving anything out. 

“The two of you are like some type of super cop.” Pacman had laughed at them. “With your powers combined, you become Captain Justice!”

They’d followed a lead instead of going to the bondhouse and one lead led to another and forty-eight hours was gone, but a killer was in jail.

 

********

“It sounds like the partnership was working out for you. What went wrong?” 

Wes looked over at Travis who shrugged. They still weren’t ready to talk about Pacman, about what happened in the squad room that day, but it was fine sharing the rest. 

“You can't solve cases twenty-four hours a day and when we weren’t solving cases...” 

“We were fighting over stupid shi...stuff.” 

“Travis is as loud and messy in his head as he is at his desk.” 

“Yeah and hanging out in Wes's brain is like being stuck in an elevator with an easy listening soundtrack. And then there was Alex.” 

“Alex?”

Wes sighed. “My ex-wife.” All the couples in the group exchanged knowing looks but Wes knew they didn’t know, not really. They’d all been together when they bonded. They’d never had to explain to the person they were supposed to be spending their lives with why there was now three people in the relationship. He thought about the scene when she’d found out that he’d let the deadline pass and why. 

Travis winced and Wes knew he’d picked up at least the feeling if not the exact memory Wes was having. “Alex and I separated after Travis and I bonded. That wasn’t the only reason, but it was hard for her to accept.”

Mr. Dumont looked between the two of them. “And the two of you never...” He trailed off, raising a brow in question. 

Wes stifled the instinct to look at Travis though he could feel the faint guilty panic that radiated from him. He thought he’d done a good job but obviously, not good enough.

Rozelle pointed between the two of them. “Oh ho, they did!” The whole group sat forward eagerly. 

He sighed and nodded. “A few months after we first bonded, there was a...” 

“Short, very short.” 

“ _Brief_ , period of time, when Travis and I had a thing. Then I realized Travis is too much of a flibbertigibbet to commit to anybody.” 

“Flibbertigibbet? Who even says? What are you, a hundred years old?” Travis rolled his eyes, turning back to the group. “ _I_ realized that Wes was still in love with Alex and always will be.” 

Dr. Ryan looked between the two of them, eyes narrowed. “I see. And did you discuss how you felt at any point?”

“No.” 

Travis shrugged. “Nah, I mean I could feel it through the bond, right?” 

“Too often, we take our bonds for granted. We don’t realize that even though we can sense the emotion our soulmate is feeling, we may not interpret it correctly.” 

She pursed her lips, getting that look that Wes hated. The one that meant they were going to have to ‘stretch themselves’ and ‘go out of their comfort zones’ with some dumb ass assignment that he was going to hate and Travis was going to take too much pleasure in messing with him about. 

Sure enough, Dr. Ryan uncrossed her legs and picked up her notes, glancing around the circle. “Your assignment this week is to use your words, _not_ your bond to communicate. If you feel something or your partner does, talk about it -- honestly.” She pointed at them. “I expect concrete examples you two. No hedging and no picking something trivial or something obvious.”

Wes felt a wave of amusement from Travis at how well she knew them. 

 

**********

“So, you want to get together tonight to do our homework, study buddy?” Travis closed up the file and threw it on the stack leaning precariously on his desk. 

Captain Sutton stopped at Wes’s desk as he passed through the squadroom. “Oh that’s right, you guys should be on the ‘communicate without your bond’ stuff.” The Captain grinned. “That was a real interesting week, fellas. There was this thing I’d been wanting to try and, well, you don’t need the details.”

Travis covered his ears. “Oh we really, really don’t.” 

“Let’s just say we communicated in a whole different way after that week.” He walked away whistling. 

 

**********

They wound up on Travis’s sofa, staring at each other, Wes put his beer down on the table. “This is ridiculous. We’re not like the other couples. We barely use the connection anyway.” It had been a mutual agreement after Wes and Alex got back together to give each of them at least the illusion of privacy. The walls thinned when they were working and they needed instantaneous communication but Wes had no desire to be privy to Travis’s many hookups and Travis had said being in Wes’s mind at night was like taking a sleeping pill. 

 

“Right, so this should be easier for us. So you tell me something, I tell you something and we act all enlightened about our inner state or whatever and make Dr. Ryan happy.” 

“Why do I have to go first?”

Travis threw up his hands. “Fine, I’ll go first.” He picked up his drink and took a sip, picking at the label and not meeting Wes’s eyes. “I’m glad we didn’t get to dissolve the bond.” 

“Oh. Well, me too.”

Travis finally looked up. “Even though it ruined things with Alex?”

“It didn’t though. It wasn’t even the final nail in the coffin.”

Travis nodded and stared at him expectantly. 

“What?”

“You’re supposed to tell me something?”

“I did.” 

“You didn’t. Agreeing with my thing doesn’t count, Wes.” 

“Okay. You were wrong. I’m not still in love with Alex.”

“My turn again. I want...I want to try again. I want this to be a real bond, not just this thing we both have to put up with.” 

Wes smiled and dropped his walls completely for the first time since they’d touched on the shooting range. He could feel Travis start and then all he could feel was _Travis_ everywhere and somewhere, Pacman laughed. 

 

2\. Just Like In The Movies 

 

“This does not happen to real people. You know who this happens to? Movie characters and _you_ ,Travis.” Wes tried to angle his body to the side, left then right, yanking on the chain that bound his hands above his head, but there was no give. 

“What, are you saying I’m not a real person?” 

Because the gang they’d surprised in the midst of a robbery were either heavily into bondage or had read way too many comics, Travis was behind him, arms wrapped around Wes's waist and handcuffed in front of them. His mouth pressed up against Wes's neck, his breath, hot and moist against Wes's skin everytime he said something. He leaned forward peering over Wes's shoulder and his soft hair scraped over Wes's neck and cheek. Wes suppressed a shiver. 

“Sometimes I wonder.”

“I _am_ amazing that way. Besides, it’s happening to you, too.”

“Oh, uh-uh. This,” he made an automatic move to gesture around them and winced at the pull until he eased his hand back into position. “This is all on you. You suck people into your craziness -- and by people, I mean me. Believe it or not, my life was quiet and sane before I met you.”

“Please. Without me, you’d be crying with boredom.”

“There’d be tears alright, but they’d be of pure joy.”

“Okay, hold on, I think I can get turned around.”

“Ow! Stop twisting. You can’t get turned around. I don’t know what you’re doing. Ow! Tra...”

Travis did a complicated twist shimmy that pressed him solidly against Wes's back and ass and left his mouth dry.

“Well that’s why you’re you, and I’m me.”

He moved again and suddenly they were face to face. Travis straddled Wes, strong thighs pressing into his, firm ass solidly on his decidedly interested cock.

Travis wiggled his brows and his grin dried up any remaining moisture in Wes's mouth.

“I’m very flexible. I’ll have to show you some day.”

Wes shook his head and shifted so that Travis slid backward, giving him some breathing room. “We’re handcuffed together in a warehouse with the bad guys right outside the door. Now is not the time to flirt with me.”

“Not the time. Ah! That implies there is a good time.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. I knew you were warm for my form.”

“Where do you get this stuff?”

“Out in the world. You should try going there sometime. Now, hold still, and don’t take this the wrong way.”

He slid forward the distance Wes had created and more until it was easy to see his cock was just as inappropriate as Wes's. He kept inching up then rocked forward slightly. Pain and pleasure tumbled over each other as Wes bit his lip. He heard Travis groan under his breath even as he kept wiggling. 

“Travis, you keep that up and there’s only going to be one way to take it.” 

Travis grinned and leaned down, mouth catching Wes's. There was nothing soft about the kiss, lips and teeth clashing with a thread of desperation underneath. 

Wes groaned and pulled away, licking his lips involuntarily. “We don’t have time for this, Travis.” 

“Mm, right. Hold that thought.” He eased his legs up until his knees were cradling Wes's back and began fumbling around his feet as far as Wes could tell. 

Wes leaned his head into Travis chest, taking a deep breath and getting nothing but Travis's scent, the cologne he wore, the detergent he washed his clothes in, his shower gel and underneath everything something that was just him. That sure as hell didn’t help his not so little ‘problem.’ He was so distracted trying to keep from squirming or thrusting up against Travis he didn’t hear the familiar click of handcuffs opening, didn’t realize Travis was free until he leaned back, holding up his hands -- one free, one still cuff-enclosed -- triumphantly. 

“Who. Is. The. Man?”

“How did you do that?” 

He shrugged, unlocking the other wrist and then reaching up to unfasten Wes's cuffs. “Boot lace key. I got it from that SERE instructor I was dating a few years ago.” 

“You kind of scare me.”

“Hey, you know the boy scout motto. Be prepared.” 

“I was never a scout, and neither were you.”

Travis grinned. “Nope, but I dated one once.” He slid off Wes's lap and patted his still hard cock gently. “We definitely are getting back to this later. For now, we’ve got bad guys to catch.” 

 

They were both kneeling at the door, listening. A weapon would be immensely helpful but the room was nearly empty. They couldn’t even break the chair apart to use as clubs because the noise would alert their captors.

“Say, did Liz and Dick ever make a movie where they were trapped together?”

Wes rolled his eyes. “Don’t even go there.”

“You’re right. We’re more like Curtis and Portier right now.”

“So we’re the Defiant Ones? Despite the fact that we’re actually the _cops_ in this scenario? ”

Travis flicked the cuffs on his belt. “You know, one reserved, stuffy guy handcuffed to a handsome, charming one.”

“I think dignified is the word you’re looking for.”

Travis patted him on the shoulder. “Whatever you need to tell yourself.”

 

He looked back at the door. There were only three guys involved as far as they’d been able to tell and they hadn’t hurt anybody so far. On the other hand, they were armed and they wouldn’t be the first guys to shoot when they were cornered. “We should wait for backup. That’d be the smart thing to do.” 

Travis nodded. “So we’re going for it then.”

“Definitely.”

 

Turned out Wes might have right about the comic books. Under the ski masks the perps looked to be all of twenty, if that. Binding Wes and Travis seemed to be the extent of their escape plan because they were sitting around arguing about what to do next when they snuck out and tackled them - a fact Amy brought up with glee when they showed up with the troops.

Wes glared at her. “There were _three_ of them.” 

Kate passed one of the handcuffed kids over to a uniform. “Aw, it’s okay to admit you’re slowing down in your old age.”

 

Travis was leaning against Wes's car in the parking lot, arms folded. “So, Tony Curtis does it for you, huh?”

“You do it for me.” He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Travis's mouth. “I admit life would be a little less _interesting_ without you.”

“Just a little?” 

Wes leaned up, grabbing another kiss, hands going to cradle Travis's head when he tried to pull back playfully. “Take me home and show me what else you can do with those handcuffs and maybe I’ll upgrade that.” 

 

3\. Plus One

 

“Favorite song?”

Kate though for a moment. “All By Myself?”

Travis snorted, smirking when Wes glared at him. He hummed a snippet of music under his breath. “Lush Life.”

She pointed a finger at him and nodded. “Right, the jazz thing.”

He swallowed his words and ignored Travis’s mumbled ‘oh, man!’ He could let that go. She was doing him a huge favor. “Movie?” 

She stared at the ceiling, mouth twisting, glanced at Amy -- who shook her head -- for help, then shrugged. Wes knew he’d given her a lot of information at once, but come on, it wasn’t that hard. He remembered her favorite movie was **Marley and Me.**

Travis put his feet up on his desk, leaning back and staring at them like they were one of those horrible reality shows he liked, before chiming in with the answer _again_. **“Some Like it Hot.”**

Amy’s cocked a brow. “Really?” 

Travis shrugged before Wes could ask what the problem was with **Some Like it Hot** which was an excellent favorite movie, thank you. “Jack Lemmon.” 

“Ooooh.” Amy and Kate exchanged glances. “I can totally see that.” 

“What about Jack Lemmon? Wait, you know what, I don’t even want to know. The important thing is that Alex is going to expect you to know this stuff about me.” 

Kate sighed. “I’ve only been your fake girlfriend for half an hour, give me a break.” 

“Yeah, or better yet, why don’t you just take Travis to the wedding? It’s not like anybody would be surprised.”

He opened his mouth to explain again why he needed an actual ‘date’ to his ex-wife’s wedding, not just a Travis, when he caught the rest of what she said. It sounded like she -- but she couldn’t think -- wait. “What does that even mean?” 

Amy jumped in. “Just that you and Travis kind of have that vibe. You’d make a good couple, well, at least now that you’re in therapy.” 

Travis's mouth dropped open and he sat up so fast his chair skidded back. “What now?”

“Travis and I would not make a good couple. Travis and I would make the Titanic look like a paper sail boat sinking.” 

Travis wagged a finger in his direction. “Yeah, what he said.”

Amy stood up and leaned against her desk, crossing her arms. Her eyes focused behind Wes's shoulder. “Cap, what if I told you Travis and Wes were dating?”

Wes whipped around, waiting for the Captain to put a stop to this madness. The Captain stopped, eyes darting between the two of them before giving them a beatific smile and clapping Wes on the shoulder. “I’d say congratulations boys, it’s about time.” He leaned in. “I’d also say keep it to yourself, since it’s against regs.” 

“No, no, no. No regs are being broken here. Did you forget the time he threw my chair out the window?”

“Did you forget the time he pulled a gun on me?”

“Oh you do not get to pull that card anymore. We worked through that. Don’t make me tell Dr. Ryan you’re regressing.” 

Travis opened his mouth, then snapped it closed and sighed. “You’re right. Not that there aren’t plenty of other things.” 

“Exactly.” He flung his hands up, glad they could agree about at least one thing. 

“Passion boys, just like” 

Wes saw Travis flinching even as he closed his eyes and shook his head. “Don’t say...”

“Liz and Dick.” 

He held out until they got in the truck that evening. It was almost painful to do it but at this point he had no choice. “So, will you be my date for the wedding?”

Travis fluttered his lashes and pressed a hand against his chest. “Why, Mr. Mitchell, this is so sudden.” 

Wes rolled his eyes. “I’ll give you absolute control of the radio for a month.”

Travis looked thoughtful. “Six months.”

“Three.”

“Sold. Now remind me why you’re turning the station into your own personal version of **The Dating Game**?”

“Remember when I was dating Laura from dispatch?” 

“I remember you went out with Laura for _one_ date then came up with some bullshit **Seinfeld** type excuse to not ask her out again.”

Wes rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I’d already told Alex I had a date with someone I worked with and I don’t know, she was just really enthused about it and then every time she asked how things were going.”

“You lied.” 

“No I just-”

“Lied.”

He sighed. “Yeah.” 

 

**********

For once, Wes really, really wasn’t interested in being on time. He stood outside the hotel, unable to make himself open the door. 

Travis bumped hips with him lightly. “Come on, might as well get it over with. We stay an hour and then I’ll take you to the nearest bar and buy you lots and lots of shots.” He paused, head cocked, eyes thoughtful. “Or we could just find that bar now.”

Wes shook his head. “I RSVP’d, yes.” At least it was just the reception and he’d be spared seeing Alex actually say vows to someone else. The invitations read _”We’ve both already done the ‘big wedding thing’, but you can never have enough big parties, so come join us for ours.”_

Travis reached up and straightened Wes's tie. “Okay then, nothing to it but to do it. Let’s go.” 

 

Alex came over and greeted them both with a hug. “I thought _you_ were bringing a date.”

Wes tensed as Travis leaned into him. If he pulled that same shtick he had with the realtor, there was no way Alex would believe them, but he simply slid his finger through Wes’s, squeezing lightly. 

Alex watched the movement, eyebrows raised. “Oh!” Her eyes narrowed. “Wait, you mean I wasted a separate invitation on Travis?”

Travis laughed, never letting go of his hand. “Well, we got you two gifts to make up for it. You know we’d never agree on one.” 

Alex laughed. “I’m so glad you came. Now, mix, mingle, have fun. I’ll see you later.” She waved them in the general direction of the tables before moving off to great the next people coming in. 

Alex’s reaction was echoed every time they met someone both of them knew, with varying degrees of surprise -- though not nearly the amount he expected -- and the occasional ‘you lucky dog’ wink directed at him and sometimes Travis. Wes knew if he had come by himself, the looks would have been very different. 

 

They found their table and grabbed seats. It was still empty and Wes checked the place cards, and was glad to see Alex hadn’t seated them with anybody he knew when they were married. Travis went to the bar and came back with two glasses of club soda. 

“You’re not drinking?” 

He shrugged. “Drunken shenanigans are for later, remember?” He sat down and eyed the dance floor. “Well, that's pretty friendly for a freshly married man. Who is that Peter is dancing with?”

Wes glanced up to see Alex’s new husband dipping a tall brunette who laughed up at him. “I’m pretty sure that’s Rebecca, his former wife.” 

“So his ex is here too?” Travis shook his head. “You people are weird. What is this, some type of yuppie thing?”

“No it’s not a ‘yuppie’ thing. It’s called being a grown up. Also, you really need to stop with the eighties movie marathons.” 

Travis got up and went over to the DJ, whispering something that had him shrug and nod, before heading back to their table. When the song ended, he heard the opening strains of **Lush Life**.

Wes raised a brow. “Really? Isn’t that a little cheesy?

“I’ll have you know, you are getting the benefit of the full the Travis Marks experience here. Now come dance with me.” 

Oh, absolutely not. “No.” 

“Wes.” 

“No.” 

“You want this to be believable, don’t you? Alex knows you like to dance.” He held out his hand with a little flourish.

It was easier than it should have been to slide into Travis's arm and close his eyes, letting the sound wash over him. They barely moved and he was conscious of nothing but the heat against him, and the throb of the music beating between both of them. 

It took a moment when the music changed for him to snap out it and when he pulled away, Travis wouldn’t meet his eyes. 

He slapped Wes on the shoulder. “Thanks for the dance, man.” Then slid over to join the group of bridesmaids that were moving into some kind of intricate line dance. 

Wes thought Travis danced with everybody at the wedding at least once, though he was most popular with the tweens and the Aunts table. He was bouncing back in between dances, sitting for a few minutes and sipping on his drink until the next person showed up to drag him back out there. Wes kept his own drinking to water and club soda as well. He wasn’t going to get through this by drinking, during or after, no matter what Travis thought. This wasn’t so much about Alex moving on as it was about him not being able to. He’d dated a few times but nothing ever felt right. Watching Alex find happiness again just made him feel like as much of a failure as their divorce had in the first place. 

Alex sat down at the table next to him. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself.”

She looked over to where Travis was showing the aunts something that looked like twerking, and laughed. “Travis has always been the life of the party.” She reached over and put a hand on his arm. “I’m really happy for you. It’s about time.” 

And that was too much. “Why does everybody keep saying that? Travis and I would be terrible together.”

She grinned slyly. “You didn’t look terrible out there.” She gestured toward the dance floor. 

“That wasn’t real, okay. I just didn’t want to show up here by myself.” He shrugged and looked away, not wanting to see the pity in her gaze. “Travis did all this to help me.” 

“And that’s why people keep saying ‘that’. Because you’ve always got each other’s back. Because even when you’re fighting you’re connected. And because you’ve been in love with him for years, and he loves you right back.” 

Her eyes were sad and Wes didn’t know what to do. He stopped knowing how to comfort her a long time ago and it wasn’t his place anymore anyway. That wasn’t as hard to face as he thought it would be. 

“It’s fine, Wes. I never doubted that you loved me when we were together. Travis wasn’t our problem.” 

He made a last ditch effort to deny the inevitable. “We have nothing in common.” 

“And we had everything in common, and that didn’t save us.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Just remember, I’m not the one you were willing to go to couples counseling for.” 

Wes watched Travis for the rest of the night, trying to see what apparently, everybody else did, watched and realized that watching him wasn’t something new, watched and saw how often Travis watched him back. 

 

“So are we finding the nearest bar or do you want to hit Sullivan’s?”

They were almost at the car and Wes could feel opportunity slipping away. They’d get in the car, maybe go get drinks and tomorrow, things would be exactly they way they’d always been. “Alex says you’re in love with me.”

Travis stopped, frozen for a moment then took a deep breath. “Maybe.” 

“And you just weren’t going to say anything?”

Travis gave a rueful smile and shook his head, eyes solemn. “Nope.”

“Then what was that back there on the dance floor?”

“That was nothing. That was friction and the fact that you haven’t been laid in like a year.”

“Travis.”

“No, look. You remember what I told you about why my house is so clean?”

“Yeah. You don’t want to trash it because it’s permanent.”

“Well, this?” He motioned between them. “This is my house too. See, I don’t know how to hold on to a relationship and you don’t know how to let go. That’s a bad combination, Wes.”

He shook his head. “I think it was something. Travis, we shouldn’t work at all, but we do.” He stepped closer. “Alex was right. Even with everything, there’s nobody else I want as a partner. You told me you’d always have my back, even if you didn’t believe what I was saying.” And Wes knew it was crazy, knew Travis might be right, but the thing was, when they were on, when they clicked, there was nothing better. Imaging all that moved from the squad room to the bedroom? Well he wanted for the first time in a long time.

Travis crossed his arms. “That’s not fair.”

He took a step closer and Travis took another step back. “No, it’s not but, hey -- love and war.”

That merited a grin, small but it was there. “And which is this?”

One more step and this time Travis didn’t move. “A little of both.”

 

 

4.The Buddy System

 

The clock was ticking, literally, since there was a big ass grandfather clock in the corner, and figuratively, since the restaurant was closing in half an hour and Travis was _done_. He’d been watching Wes crash and burn all night. No, not even that, since he didn’t get in the air most of the time. The dude was single, gorgeous, smart and okay, occasionally funny in a stick up the ass way and he couldn’t get more than a polite smile out of most women. It wasn't just tonight either, this had been going on for weeks. 

Travis grabbed Wes's room key off the table and stood up, heading for the elevator. Wes scrambled to follow him.

“Travis, what the hell are you doing?” He reached for the key and Travis stuck it in his pants pocket. 

Wes glared at him then his face took on a stubborn expression. “I don’t know what your deal is, but I’m not going to wrestle you for the damn key.” 

“Good.” 

“Fine.” 

They watched the elevator numbers climb up in silence, Wes's defiant and Travis's  
determined. 

Travis practically marched through the hotel room door and straight into the bedroom. Wes followed, stopping abruptly inside the door when Travis said, “Okay, that’s it,” and started to undress. 

He stripped off his clothes quickly and efficiently and stretched out on the bed naked, arms folded behind his head, legs crossed at the ankle. Travis had never been shy, he couldn’t afford to be, moving from place to place, constantly sharing rooms and bathrooms with virtual strangers. Wes's eyes travelled over him, startled, but most importantly, appraising. He also knew exactly what he looked like -- and well, he never said modesty was a strong suit either. 

“Look, the more you don’t get laid, the more you _won’t_ get laid. After a while it starts to waft around you, eau de desperation.” 

“You’re taking your wingman obligation a little too seriously there, Travis.” Wes ran a hand through his hair in a gesture Travis knew meant he was nervous and hiding it. “So, what, we’re going to screw and you’re going to send me off to hook up with someone else, and that’s going to be just fine?”

“Yeah, why not? We can sleep together without being involved.” He couldn’t resist the air quotes around involved, grinning when Wes rolled his eyes. “ I do it all the time.” 

“Yeah, and look at how that works out for you.” 

“That’s because they always think I’m somebody I’m not. You already know who I am. There are no expectations here except orgasms.” He grinned, the one that had gotten him into trouble and many, many pants since he was sixteen. “Which I can promise you, will be _fantastic_.” 

“They’re all pretty fantastic, that’s what makes them orgasms.”

“Sex is like pizza, when it’s cold it’s still pretty good, but when it’s hot, it’s great, and you’ve forgotten how great hot pizza is. Hell you haven’t ordered in so long, you probably don’t even remember what it tastes like.” He bounced up, standing in front of Wes and reaching out to grab his lapels. Travis telegraphed every move, giving his partner a chance to pull away. Instead, Wes licked his lips, leaning in slightly even as he shook his head. 

“This is such a bad idea.” 

Travis shrugged. “It’ll give you something to bitch about tomorrow.” 

 

Travis stared up at the ceiling, blinking rapidly and trying to clear his blurry vision. “That was.” 

“Yeah.” 

“I’m not saying you’re as good as me or anything, but damn!” He didn’t know whether to admire Alex or pity her because Wes was hell on wheels in bed and she voluntarily gave that up. He could put up with a lot of things for orgasms that actually made his vision white out. They might not even have needed therapy if they’d been fucking from the get. He looked over at Wes who was spread out, flushed red and panting slightly. Okay, maybe they’d still be in therapy but at least he’d feel better about it. 

“And I’m not saying you’re as good as _me_ but I am saying we should definitely do this again.” 

“Yeah we should. I’m all up on that. Well, not this second, but give me an hour.” 

 

**********

 

He woke up alone and rolled over into the empty space in his bed with a groan. In the light of day, that had definitely been a bad idea. They hadn’t been drunk, just slightly buzzed -- not enough for a hangover but enough to be a little reckless then and regretful now. Travis knew if he felt like that, then Wes was going to be ten times worse but he was wrong. There was actually no bitching the next day. 

Wes smiled at him when he came in, passing him one of the cups of still steaming coffee on his desk. 

Travis took a sip. It was, of course, perfect. Wes took getting an order wrong, or a wrong order for that matter, as a personal affront. “What’s this for?’

“You were totally right. Sex without any expectations or obligations was just what I needed.” 

Travis stifled any hints of disappointment that tried to rise to the surface and grinned. “I’m always right, you just hate to admit it.” 

 

**********

 

The next time they went out for drinks after shift, Travis couldn’t help but be a little smug about the multiple looks of interest coming Wes's way. He definitely wasn’t jealous when one of the bolder ladies sent a drink over to their table and Wes, to the hoots and encouragement of the group, went over to the bar to thank her. He took a sip of his own beer and leaned in to listen to Amy, Kate and Josh argue over last night’s **The Voice**. He resisted the urge to glance over because nope, _definitely_ not jealousy causing his stomach to churn. If anything it was envy because, hey, Wes was great in bed and she was gonna get a chance to sample that. 

He was considering going to the bar for another round when Wes sat back down next to him. “What happened? You had that, man.”

Wes shrugged. “Nothing, I just wasn’t into it.” 

“How can you not be into it? She was gorgeous and she was willing to take the lead, which you obviously need.” 

“Yeah, maybe.” He slid his arm along the back of the booth until his fingertips brushed against Travis neck. “I’m just kind of in the mood for pizza, you know?”

Travis didn’t bother to suppress the shiver or the grin.

 

And yeah, then it was a thing. Travis wasn’t sure what kind of thing and he was pretty sure Wes wasn’t either, but it was working. It wasn’t like they suddenly started agreeing on everything or holding hands under their desks. Wes still side-eyed Travis's messy desk and Travis still made fun of Wes's old man fussiness and they still fought over the radio, but the sharp edge to their arguments, there since Pacman’s death, was missing. And yeah, part of that was definitely therapy but it turned out that working out some of their disagreements through competitive ‘sport fucking’ was surprisingly therapeutic as well. 

By unspoken, mutual agreement, they didn’t tell Dr. Ryan what was going on, even though Travis was sure that was breaking some type of therapy rule or something. It wasn’t like they didn’t know what she’d say about it. He could see her now, mouth pursed, brow raised, tone dulcet. _“Gentlemen, do you really think this is the best idea?”_ Of course they didn’t. It was a dumb shit idea. He might not have the best impulse control but it wasn’t like he didn’t know when he did stupid things, things that were gonna bite him in the ass, he just did them anyway. 

 

**********

 

Jonelle ignored the evidence bag and stared at him, head tilted, eyes speculative.

Travis tried to stare her down but that hadn’t worked when they were dating and it hadn’t worked since then. “What?” 

“You’re glowing.” She crossed her arms. “You’re seeing somebody. And considering I haven’t heard your name cursed in the break room recently, it’s serious. Or as serious as it gets for you.” 

Travis could feel Wes's eyes on him even as he gave her a broad, annoying grin. “My skin is glowing because I have an amazing new skincare regimen and maybe I’ve learned my lesson about dipping my toes in the company pool.” 

“Humpf.” She rolled her eyes at him and reached out to take the bag. 

 

**********

 

“You want _pizza_? My place?”

Wes slammed the folder closed on his desk harder than necessary, not meeting Travis's eyes as he shuffled files around. “No, I do not want pizza.” 

Kate stopped on her way to the break room. “Oooh, who’s having pizza?” 

“Wes, if he plays his cards right.” 

“That sounds good though, you guys up for company?” She turned toward her desk. “Hey Amy, you want pizza?”

“I’m not playing any card. There’s no cards, and no pizza for anybody in this room!” He got up and stomped toward the break room, slamming the door behind him. 

The room was quiet for a minute before resuming activity. It wasn’t like it was the first or the fiftieth time Wes or Travis had flipped out about something the rest of them had no clue about. Still. 

Kate shook her head. “Wow, that was pretty harsh. Is he on another cleanse?” 

Travis wasn’t sure what bug had crawled up Wes's ass or why. He snorted. “Maybe he needs to be.”

 

It was almost eight when the bell rang. After realizing Wes wasn’t coming back, he’d finished up their report and headed home. His text to Wes got no response so his plan was to leave him alone to get over his snit. He still wasn’t surprised to hit the buzzer and have Wes ask to come up. 

He looked at the box in Wes's hand. It was a large from his favorite pizza joint and he was sure if he opened it, it would be his favorite, Hawaiian, even though Wes always said pineapples belonged in drinks, not on pizza. 

“Sorry. I’m being an ass.” 

“Obviously.” He grabbed the box and headed for the kitchen, putting it down on the counter and turning to face Wes. “ You wanna tell me why?”

Wes rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. “That thing with Jonelle, today. When she asked who you were seeing, you just blew it off.”

“Because we don’t need everybody knowing our business, especially not Jonelle. You know it would be all over the department by lunch.”

Wes shrugged. “It’s stupid, I know. We said we were going to do this without getting involved. It’s just not as easy as I thought.”

Travis moved until he was standing directly in front of Wes and laid a hand on his chest. “I said we didn’t _have_ to be involved. Doesn’t mean we can’t, if we want.” 

Wes stared at him a moment, then grinned, hand coming up to cover his. “I want.” 

“Yeah? Yeah, me too.” Travis matched his grin before he closed his fingers over Wes's lapel, pulling him in like an echo of the first time. The stakes were different now, but all that mattered was that they were still playing. 

They wound up eating the pizza cold later that night in bed, and yeah, it was still pretty damn good. 

 

5\. At Least They Agreed on the Curtains 

 

He might have been sliding down the other side of middle age, but he was still faster than Travis and the loud "Ouch!" when his wooden mixing spoon collided with grasping fingers proved it.

“Hey!” 

Wes shook his head. “If you refuse to be a good example, you’ll just have to be a horrible warning.” 

“I just wanted a little piece.” Travis might also have been sliding down down the other side of middle age, but his pout was still all ‘adorable little boy’. 

Fortunately, Wes had always been _mostly_ immune to it. “Yeah and by the time you and your pack of wolves finish getting ‘little pieces’ there won’t be anything left for the rest of us who don’t eat like animals.” He didn’t even have to look to know Billy had guiltily jerked his hand away from the tray of cookies. Their son had a sweet tooth and a bad habit of mimicking Travis's every move. He’d only been with them six months and had decided the best way to stay was to imitate his siblings and Travis. 

After three kids, Wes understood that only time and love would convince Billy he was there to stay, no matter what. That didn’t keep his heart from breaking a little every time Billy hesitated, eyes on Travis, Beth or Chance before he reached for his plate or picked up a toy.

In hindsight, Chance had been easy. He was the only one of their kids that hadn’t come from a string of foster homes. He was almost a year old and the only survivor of a robbery gone wrong. They hadn’t even known he was in the apartment at first, till Travis stepped on the pacifier. They found him tucked into his crib in a walk in closet serving as a makeshift nursery. There were no relatives willing or able to step up to take him. They hadn’t talked about kids, hell they were still trying to see if they were going to make this thing work, still having knock-down drag outs about the remote and the dishes, but Chance had been like one of their cases -- they’d been a hundred percent on the same page with him. Not that they didn’t still argue about the remote, despite their ‘your night, my night’ system, but more often than not, the TV wound up on Nickelodeon anyway. 

Beth’s last foster mom had been one of Travis's former ones. One of the ‘good’ ones that Travis still kept in touch with. When she got sick and Beth was the only foster child still in the home, she’d begged Travis to take her, terrified she’d go back into the system and into something bad. And one turned into two and just like Wes thought they were settled with Chance, when Beth came along, they never expected Billy almost five years later. He followed Beth home like a puppy from the after school program where she volunteered and she’d been just as defiant about keeping him as she had been about the actually puppy she’d found starving behind a dumpster a few years before. 

 

Dinner was loud and messy and if you’d told Wes ten years before that he would be sitting with his mother at _his_ thanksgiving table talking her down from ‘grandchild Christmas fever’, while his kids argued over who’d made the best dish and Travis surreptitiously fed pieces of turkey to the dog under the table, he’d have thought you were describing a nightmare. Instead, he woke up every day, thankful for the life they were making. 

 

“Everybody tucked in?”

Travis nodded, sitting the giant bowl of popcorn he was carrying down on the table. He settled down on the sofa next to Wes and leaned back, draping an arm across Wes’s shoulder as he took the bottle of beer Wes handed him. “So what’s this big news you’ve been antsy about all day? That your mom only brought up the kids spending the summer in Europe with her twice?” 

Wes laughed. “Well, that was a bit of a Christmas miracle, but no. They offered me the promotion.” 

Travis sat the bottle down on the table and pulled him in for a kiss. “Oh wow, babe! Congratulations, Captain Mitchell.”

“Maybe.” 

“Maybe? I thought we’d decided already.” 

“No, you decided already. I said we’d talk about it if I got the offer.” 

“Fine, we can argue.” 

“Talk.”

Travis raised a brow and Wes sighed. “Argue.” They’d argue and Travis would win. Wes had been doing the job for the past six months anyway but taking it officially would mean he’d never be back on the streets again. And he knew that, really when they took Billy but he could kick a little about it. 

Travis gave him a knowing look. “Right, like I said, we can argue about it after the holidays.” 

“Black Friday is not an actual holiday, Travis.” 

“Whatever, just because you do all your Christmas shopping in January, don’t ruin it for the rest of us.” He leaned forward and grabbed a handful of popcorn. “Now come on and pick a movie. Best Buy line starts in three hours.” 

Wes shook his head and grabbed the remote. Shopping for presents made Travis as gleeful as actually opening them. Even before the kids, before they’d been more than just work partners, Travis never missed Christmas or a birthday or even an anniversary. Wes always thought it was because he’d never really had anyone to give presents to growing up. 

He clicked the remote until a familiar logo caught his eye.

“The classics channel? Really?” 

Wes waved the remote tauntingly in Travis direction. 

Travis rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know, it’s your turn.” 

He watched Audrey Hepburn enter the scene, thumb poised to change the channel. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen this movie ten times. Travis shifted next to him, snuggling closer and dropping a hand on Wes's thigh. “I can change it.”

“Nah, I kind of like this one.”


End file.
